Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back
by Mutitoon90
Summary: A year has passed since Cortex's defeat at Crash's and Nathan's hands, and the evil doctor is up to no good again. This time, Cortex needs Crash's assistance to obtain power crystals for a reason that is unknown to the orange hero, and there is another group that are also after the crystals, which Nathan leads. Can Crash trust Cortex this time, or is he going to let Cortex win?
1. Prologue

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Retold by Mutitoon90

* * *

Prologue

"AHHHHHHHH!"

Neo Cortex screamed as he fell to the island that he named after himself after being defeated by Crash Bandicoot. He fell onto the remaining trees on the island, which softened his fall, and after bouncing on the branches, he fell into a hole on the ground, landing in a cave with a loud thud.

"OW!"

He felt pain in his weak, little body as he returned to his feet.

"Damn!"

Cortex could not believe it; he was betrayed by his 'partner', his 'creation', and his own nephew, and due to them, he was without an army to take over the world, without a base to hide out in, and without a power source to restart his plan. He was about to start ranting in fury, when he saw something glowing faintly.

"What is that strange purple glow?"

Cortex followed the glow, which glowed a little brighter until he bumped into the glow.

"Ow!"

He rubbed his nose in response to the pain.

"What was that?"

Then, he remembered that he had a box of matches in his lab coat. He pulled the box out, opened it, pulled out a match, and struck it to light it. Once lit, the match showed Neo Cortex a giant purple crystal.

"Of course, this is the power source that helped the castle function."

He thought of what he could do with the crystal, and he started laughing evilly.

"With this crystal, I'll rule the world!"

Then, the matched burned out as it burned Cortex's fingers, due to the fact that the branches from the trees tore the gloves before falling into the hole.

"D'oh!"


	2. Chapter 1

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Retold by Mutitoon90

* * *

Chapter 1

It is one year later after Neo Cortex found the giant crystal, and he was looking at the Earth from the space station he 'borrowed' from NASA and modified for living space as well as the place to hide the Cortex Vortex 2.0.

"Doctor Cortex?"

The yellow skinned man turned to his assistant, who was a man shorter than Cortex.

"What is it, N. Gin?" Cortex replied to the man who had a metal faceplate that covered half of his head and a rocket lounged into his skull, which is a result of an accident in a rocket factory.

"We have a problem." The nearly destroyed man announced.

"It is…?" Cortex asked.

"We need twenty-five lesser crystals to power the Cortex Vortex." N. Gin replied.

"I know that!" Cortex roared at N. Gin, "I've already had five of them."

"And we have no Earth bound operatives." N. Gin added.

"I know that as well." Cortex growled, remembering the reason of the lack of the operatives: a werewolf.

Cortex returned to the sight of the Earth as he thought about what to do. Then, he remembered someone who he hated greatly for the past year.

"Maybe…" Cortex mused himself.

Someone who stopped him from taking over the world.

"if there are no more allies on Earth…"

Someone who was suppose to be a part of his army.

"we need an enemy."

Someone like Crash Bandicoot.

Cortex grinned evilly; he was going to take over the world and get his revenge on Crash Bandicoot in a single plan.


	3. Chapter 2

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Retold by Mutitoon90

* * *

Chapter 2

On the beach, where Nathan and Crash parted ways, Crash was asleep, while his sister, Coco was surfing the web on her laptop. Both siblings needed the break with all that happened on the Wumpa Islands.

Ripper Roo, or Professor Roo, has became the schoolteacher of the island, and the building of the schoolhouse was tough and boring, but in the end, Professor Roo was happy to help the experiments get an education, despite the extreme limit of subjects to learn.

Koala Kong was no longer the idiot that Crash fought as an enemy a year ago; he was smart enough to start a few computer programs in Coco's laptop. After realizing that he was very computer orientated, he started a business for computer users, but Coco was the only one on Wumpa Island who needed his assistance, but he does have other customers that live on another island.

Pinstripe Potoroo returned to Cortex Island and change it into Gun Island. Unlike Wumpa Island, it is advance in technology, but it is closer to being a large city than anything else. Most people on Wumpa Island refuse to go to Gun Island.

Crash woke up and turned to his side to look to see Tawna was next to him, but it was only Coco.

"Not again…" Crash whispered to himself.

Coco looked at her brother, who just rolled back to his left, and sighed deeply. She knew what Crash was talking about.

It was months after Nathan and Brio's departure from the islands, and to put it mildly, Tawna was upset at Crash for many reasons. Crash napped for half of the day, which Tawna did not mind so much, but Crash snoring did not help matters; he ate his meals like a pig, Tawna did not mind very much, but the belching was not much help either, even with guests around, but the majority of Tawna's departure was Crash was almost completely unromantic. Crash never gave her flowers, called her a pet name, or took her out on a date, and it really upset Tawna.

Pinstripe, who was on a business trip, took Tawna on a date, brought her flowers, and named her 'Tawn the Fawn'. Tawna was so impressed that she dumped Crash and gave her house to live with Pinstripe.

Crash found a letter from Tawna that told him that Tawna was unhappy about Crash's unromantic habits and that she left the island with Pinstripe. Crash has been heartbroken, so he would take a nap that lasts to three quarters of a day to escape the reality that Tawna was gone, but he still cannot forget her and how she broke his heart.

Coco saw her brother heartbroken, but she needed some help from Aku-Aku, but he was not there.

"I wish I knew what to do…" Coco whispered under her breath.

Then, her laptop made a sound that Coco hated, normally, which told her that the battery was dying. The sound gave Coco an idea.

"Crash." Coco said to Crash, but he slept on.

"Crash!" The she-bandicoot said loudly, but Crash was still asleep.

"CRASH!"

The hero of the Wumpa Islands woke up from the yell and asked, "What?"

"I need you to make yourself useful and get me a new battery!" Coco demanded.

"All right!" Crash complained as he rubbed his head, "I'll get your dumb battery."

As Crash left, Coco smiled to herself.

"This might help him forget about Tawna."

* * *

It had been a few minutes since Crash was sent to Koala Kong's computer shop, but he did not care.

"I don't care as long as she's gone." Crash said to himself.

He was still heartbroken.

"Hello, Crash."

Crash turned around and saw Aku-Aku.

"Hi." Crash barely said and turned away.

"Are you still upset about Tawna?" Aku-Aku asked.

"Yeah." Crash sighed.

He knew that the mask knew that, but he guessed that Aku-Aku was surprised at him for moping around for months.

"Don't worry about me." Crash said, "I'll be fine."

Then, a strange light engulfed the bandicoot and the mask.

"What the…!"

The bandicoot never finished his sentence, because he disappeared from the island with Aku-Aku.


	4. Chapter 3

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Retold by Mutitoon90

* * *

Chapter 3

Crash's eyes opened after being blinded by the strange light.

"Crash?" Aku-Aku's voice spoke to the bandicoot.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Crash said, knowing what Aku-Aku was about to ask: 'Are you all right?'

The bandicoot looked around and saw that he was in a darken room.

"Whoa!" Crash said.

"Well, well…" A familiar voice rang out.

"Wait!" Crash said, "Is that…?"

Then, a hologram of Neo Cortex's head appeared in front of Crash and Aku-Aku.

"…if it isn't Crash Bandicoot." The head finished.

"Neo Cortex." Crash also finished his sentence, not at all happy to see Cortex again.

"What are you up to now?" Aku-Aku demanded the hologram.

"What makes you so untrusting of me?" Cortex asked, as if he was an innocent bystander, which he was not.

"The list is long." Crash replied.

"Agreed." Aku-Aku said.

"But there's a greater threat than I." Cortex defended himself.

"A grater threat than you?" Crash asked, half surprised at the possibility.

"Yes." Cortex said, "A wave of cosmic energy is about to hit the Earth, causing most life on Earth to be destroy, and that's putting it mildly."

"Cosmic energy?" Crash asked, not knowing anything about the subject.

Aku-Aku, however, knew that Cortex had a point.

"What are we to do to stop this?" The mask asked Cortex.

Crash looked at Aku-Aku in shock; the mask was agreeing to help Cortex!

"What are you thinking!" The bandicoot yelled at the mask.

"I know what I'm agreeing to, Crash." Aku-Aku replied.

"And that is…?"

"Cosmic energy is something that should not be taken lightly." The mask said.

Crash heard the seriousness in the mask's words and nodded to Aku-Aku before he turned to Cortex.

"What do ya want, Blimp-head?" Crash rudely asked.

"Crash, we can be professional about this." Cortex said, "But I need you to get me twenty power crystals."

"Power crystals?" Crash asked.

Then, Cortex's head disappeared and in its place was a purple crystal, which glowed the same color.

"Whoa!" Crash exclaimed at the sight of the hologram.

Then, the crystal disappeared and was replaced by Neo Cortex's face.

"Hey!" Crash exclaimed, "Don't scare people like that!"

Crash knew that Cortex was his 'ally', but he was not about to miss the chance to torment his 'creator'.

"Very funny." Cortex said dryly.

"I thought so." Crash grinned, pleased with himself.

Cortex growled before he spoke again.

"There is another problem."

"What is it?" Aku-Aku asked.

"There is a group of mercenaries that wish to stop me due to my…" Then, Cortex coughed, "past."

"I don't blame them." Crash commented.

Aku-Aku could not stop himself from having a small laugh.

Cortex rolled his eyes and continued to speak.

"Yes, well, I've have found out the that the next five crystals is on Wumpa Island."

"Cool!" Crash said, "Maybe I can get that battery for Coco."

"Uh…" Cortex started, causing concern in Aku-Aku and Crash.

"What is it?" Crash cocked an eyebrow in suspicion.

"Well, I don't want to risk your sister in this matter, because she is so young." Cortex said, knowing that Coco could search for his enemy to help stop him.

"Hmm," Crash thought, "you might have a point there."

"I knew you would see it my way." Cortex said, fairly pleased with himself, "I'll send you to the island now."

Then, the light that brought Crash and Aku-Aku to Cortex returned them back to the island.


	5. Chapter 4

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Retold by Mutitoon90

* * *

Chapter 4

Crash opened his eyes again and found himself back on the island.

"We're back!" Crash exclaimed joyfully.

"But not for long." Aku-Aku said, destroying Crash's cheerful behavior.

"Great way to kill a mood." The bandicoot muttered at the mask.

"We have to go find the crystals." Aku-Aku announced.

"Just a question." Crash said, "Should we trust Cortex?"

"I don't know." Aku-Aku replied, "Maybe we should go along with this…for now."

Crash thought for a moment before he agreed with the mask with a nod.

"Wow!" Crash yelled loudly as the crystal fused into his body through Aku-Aku.

* * *

Crash and Aku-Aku had found four crystals by this time. The first was found in the woods, shortly after the two started searching for the crystals, the second was found in the beach, the third was found by the riverside, protected by a bunch of normal monkeys, and the fourth was found on the pathway to the ruins that Crash and Aku-Aku took a year ago with Nathan Cortex.

"It's so cool that the crystals just go into your body like that!" Crash exclaimed.

"It's always the same thing…" Aku-Aku said to himself.

"What?" Crash asked, having heard the mask muttering.

"It's nothing." The colorful mask replied.

"I heard you." Crash announced.

Sighing out of annoyance, Aku-Aku finally answered Crash's question.

"This is not the first time I've put a crystal into someone's body."

"It's not?" The bandicoot's eyes grew big with interest.

"Believe it or not, I was not always a magical mask; I was a human once." Aku-Aku confessed.

"Wow!" Crash exclaimed.

"Yes," The mask said, "I was able to channel magical objects and spirits into people for the benefit of the village that used to live on all three islands."

"Really?" The bandicoot asked, "What happened?"

"It's something I rather not speak about." Aku-Aku replied, becoming sad.

"All right." Crash said, knowing that he wanted to know about Aku-Aku's past, but the mask did not.

Crash and Aku-Aku found themselves at the ruins that they faced Ripper Roo the year earlier.

"Can't believe that this place was a battlefield a year ago." The bandicoot said as he looked at the ruins' beauty.

"I agree with you." The mask announced.

"I third the statement."

The two turned to see Professor Roo, who still wore the straitjacket, but also a top hat, glasses and had a cane He also had grown orange hair and a mustache. His once yellow and red eyes were black and white, and his voice was deeper than before.

"Hi, Prof." Crash greeted the blue kangaroo.

"Hello, Professor." Aku-Aku greeted formally.

"Greetings, Crash and Aku-Aku." Roo said to the duo.

Then, Crash saw the fifth crystal behind the desk that was behind Roo.

"Hey, Prof?"

"Yes?" The professor asked.

"What's that thing over there?" Crash asked.

The blue kangaroo turned around and saw the crystal, and then he turned back to Crash and Aku-Aku, saying, "That thing? It's a crystal of strange power. That's all I know."

"Really?" Crash said, "Can I have it?"

The kangaroo thought for a few moments before he answered.

"No."

"What?" Crash and Aku-Aku exclaimed loudly.

The blue marsupial looked at the duo with a sly look in his eyes.

"Unless…"

"What?" Crash asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"You and I shall engage in battle." Professor Roo finished.

"Battle?" Crash asked, "Why?"

"You recall that you defeated me in battle when I was Ripper Roo." The professor explained, "But I have always had a sense of revenge since that day, despite my gratitude for your help."

"A fight, huh?" Crash mused at the idea, thinking it would help him get ready for other fights to come. Then, the bandicoot smiled and said, "Let's rumble!"

"Very well." The kangaroo said.

The marsupial hopped to a red circle in the room and stomped on it, revealing the circle was a button, which caused the room to change into a battleground surrounded by water.

"What tha?" Crash exclaimed in confusion.

"This has been a pet project of mine for the past year." The blue marsupial explained, "I hoped that we enter the battlefield as opponents again."

"so, what are ya waiting for?" Crash announced, ready for a fight, "Let's go."

The two marsupials entered the ring and prepared for their fight.

"Ready, Crash?"

"Born ready." The bandicoot grinned.

Then, boxes of dynamite dropped from the ceiling, trying to land on Crash.

"What the!" Crash yelled as he dodged the boxes.

"This is my field." The kangaroo announced.

Crash continued to dodge the explosive boxes, when he got an idea. He started running to the kangaroo, and the boxes followed.

"What?" The professor exclaimed as a box hit him on the head, causing an explosion.

"I win!" Crash announced victoriously.

Then, he heard something he had not heard in a year: The manic laughter of Ripper Roo.

"It can't be…" Crash started before he heard the all too familiar sound of Ripper Roo's voice.

"We meet again, Crash Bandicoot."

"Oh no!" Crash whimpered.

Then, Ripper Roo hopped in front of the bandicoot. He lost his cane and top hat, and his orange hair and mustache were frizzled from the dynamite that hit him. His eyes were red and yellow again.

"You're back." Crash said, stepping back.

"I know." Ripper Roo laughed in a high-pitched voice.

The insane kangaroo hopped after Crash, trying to slice the bandicoot with his toenails, but Crash managed to dodge the attacks.

"Crash!" Aku-Aku yelled, trying to warn Crash about the box of dynamite that he was backing into.

Crash turned and saw the box, giving Crash an idea.

"I'm going to win." Ripper Roo announced.

"that's what you think." Crash taunted.

Then, he dodged another attack, leaving Ripper Roo to land on the box, causing another explosion.

"Gotcha!" Crash announced.

Then, the kangaroo appeared with many burns on his body and fell to the floor. Seeing this, Crash ran to the crystal and called Aku-Aku over.

"Aku-Aku, come over here!"

The mask went to the bandicoot and went between Crash and the crystal, and showing glowing. The crystal reacted to the glow and floated to Aku-Aku and turned into energy, which went through the mask and into Crash.

"All right!" Crash yelled as the teleporting light engulfed him and Aku-Aku once again.


	6. Chapter 5

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Retold by Mutitoon90

* * *

Chapter 5

In a blimp, Nathan Cortex and Nitrus Brio were watching a screen that showed a world map with three dots on the map, which one of the dots disappear from the screen.

"This is bad." Brio said upon the disappearance of the dot.

"Yeah." Nathan agreed.

The boy of seventeen knew that his uncle was still alive due the information that he and Brio received from their best 'employee'.

"I fear that it is Crash." Brio said, concern in his voice.

"Why do I have this bad feeling that you're right?" Nathan asked.

"I didn't know you could listen to your gut." A young woman's voice spoke from the door.

Nathan turned to the door and saw a young woman wearing a green T-shirt, blue jeans, and brown sandals, and had short, silver hair with a long strand of her bangs hung on each side of her face, framing it; she has the ears and the tail of a wolf. This is Luna, a sixteen-year-old with an attitude of a rebel, but the heart of woman. She and her closest ally and friend, Sash, who was a wolf, helps her turn into the creature that stood in front of Nathan and Brio.

"Luna!" The boy groaned in annoyance, "This isn't the time for smart-ass comments."

Luna just grinned.

"Is that anyway to talk to the best crystal finder in your payroll?"

Nathan glared at the wolf-girl.

"Only if she also the worst person to with into a ballroom."

"Once, smart guy, once." Luna said, "Besides, I did warn you about me and ballroom parties, but we still got the crystal."

"Luna has a point." Brio pointed out.

"Brio!" Nathan yelled as Luna giggled behind him.

Brio shrugged his shoulders at Nathan.

"Great." Nathan groaned.

"Soooo?" Luna said, "Who's Crash?"

The men groaned; Luna had a great long-term memory, but also a very lousy short-term memory.

"Luna," Nathan replied, "Crash is my friend."

"Oh, yeah!" The wolf-girl remembered, "The marsupial."

"We fear that he may have become an agent of Neo Cortex." Brio explained to Luna.

"Then, why not send someone down there to stop him?" Luna asked the men.

"Because we have no idea if it is true." Nathan explained next.

"Just check it out." Luna pushed her issue.

"All right!" Nathan said, admitting defeat, "But I will not send them to kill him!"

"Them?" Luna mused at Nathan's words.

"Yes, them." Nathan rolled his eyes at the wolf-girl.

"The Komodo Brothers?" Brio asked Nathan.

"Of course." The boy replied.

Luna laughed before she spoke.

"Are you going to use the intercom or your yell?"

"Not humorous, Luna." Nathan calmly said, Knowing that Luna and the Komodo Brothers were very good friends, "You are the one who's going to tell them."

"Okay." Luna said with a smile, before she ran off.

Nathan sighed as he sat down and started scratched his head, which was covered with his black, messy, shoulder-length hair. He did not notice how long his hair was for a few months. Then, he was no longer the frightened boy, who was escaping his family's way of life, but a young man fighting back against the evils that his father and uncles supported, all thanks to his friend, Crash Bandicoot.

"Nathan?" Brio spoke to the boy.

"Yes?" Nathan replied.

"I've been wondering about this whole thing." Brio spoke his mind, "What if your uncle brainwashed Crash? He'll be a powerful enemy as he was a powerful friend."

"I'm was thinking of the same." Nathan admitted, "But there is the chance that Crash is only being used by Uncle Neo without any mind altering machines."

"Do you mean that your uncle is lying to Crash?" The partner asked in shock.

"Neo has a silver fork for a tongue." Nathan pointed, concern in his voice.

"We need a plan." Brio said.

"Agreed." The young man confirmed.

* * *

Luna went to the Komodo Brothers' room and saw the door. She knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

"Come in." A raspy voice answered the knock.

The wolf-girl opened the door and entered the room.

"Hi, Joe! Hi, Moe!"

Two komodos who wore identical purple robes and golden headgear that where evolved by Brio and Nathan looked at Luna with a dark look in their eyes, but once they saw it was Luna, the dark look turned bright.

"Brother, it isss Luna." The thinner of the komodos spoke.

The larger of the brothers smiled kindly, which Luna knew, but it still caused her to feel uneasy.

"Good to see you guys too," Luna said, "but I'm here on business."

"What kind of busssinesss?" The skinny komodo asked.

"The fightin' kind, Joe" The wolf-girl answered.

"Who are we going to fight?"

"I have an idea, but I'm not for sure yet." Luna confessed.

"You two will fight." Nathan's voice rang into the room.

The brothers looked up at the intercom, but Luna looked behind her, seeing Nathan at the doorway.

"Good to see ya, boss." The wolf-girl joked.

Nathan rolled his eyes before he spoke.

"This is not a time for jokes, Luna."

"Sorry." Luna said, truly apologetic upon hearing Nathan's serious voice.

Nathan smiled and continued to speak.

"I have a plan, but the brothers will have to dress warmly."


	7. Chapter 6

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Retold by Mutitoon90

* * *

Chapter 6

Crash yawned loudly as he and Aku-Aku heard the where they were going to next.

"The Artic is freezing cold, so I have special equipment for you." Cortex said before a set of clothing appeared in front of the duo.

"All right." The bored bandicoot said as he looked over the items.

The set had thermal undergarments, snow boots, thick wool gloves, goggles, and an oversize coat with white fur on it, which disgusted Crash.

"Don't worry, Crash," Cortex said in an annoyed voice, "it's fake fur."

"Good to hear." The bandicoot sighted in relief.

* * *

Crash, despite the warmth of the clothing, was freezing!

"N-n-next t-t-time, I-I-I'm a-a-asking C-c-cortex f-f-for w-w-warmer c-c-clothes!" The bandicoot yelled to the mask as the icy wind hit the duo.

"We need to get the crystals and quickly!" Aku-Aku announced as they started looking for the crystals.

* * *

Crash and Aku-Aku were very tired, in a snowstorm, and they had three crystals and a new friend, a polar bear cub.

The first crystal was found with the cub, but that was before being chased by a giant polar bear. After escaping the polar bear, Crash named the bear Polar, which caused Aku-Aku to sigh deeply out of frustration. An hour later, a giant boulder chased the trio, and while being chased, they grabbed the second crystal. After losing the boulder to a canyon, a snowstorm came in a sudden. The trio continued to search for third crystal until they found it.

"We need to find the next two crystals." Crash announced.

Aku-Aku agreed by 'nodding', when Polar started growling at a direction.

"What is it, Polar?" Crash asked his new friend.

Then, the cub ran off.

"Whoa! Come back here!" Crash exclaimed, trying to catch up with the cub with Aku-Aku right behind him.

In the chase, a light engulfed the trio, which was very similar to Cortex's teleporting light.

"Not again!" Crash complained before disappearing from the Artic.

* * *

"Whoa! It's warm!" Crash said, recovering from his temporary blindness and taking off his winter clothes.

He saw that he and his group was in a purple tent-like room or area decorated with purple curtains with gold tassels and pillows with tassels with the same color as the curtains.

"Where are we?" Aku-Aku asked.

Polar started growling again, but this time it was in defense.

"Polar is sensing something!" The colorful mask grew dark with seriousness.

"Make that two." A voice entered the room.

The trio froze for a few moments before Crash demanded to know who spoke.

"Who was that!"

Then, a large saber flew at the group, who dodged the projectile in time, and hit the wall.

"I asked for a 'who', not a 'what'!" Crash exclaimed meekly.

Then, the voice spoke again.

"Ssso, you think you can defeat usss?"

"Us?" Crash repeated, making sure his hearing was not off.

"Yesss, Bandicoot." The voice hissed, "Usss."

Then, a beam of light appeared onto two komodos. One komodo was skinny, as his partner was large, and both had swords in their hands.

"Who are you guys!" Crash demanded the reptile duo.

"We are the Komodo Brothersss." The skinnier of the duo spoke, "Thisss isss Komodo Moe, and I am Komodo Joe."

Crash grinned as he responded to the introduction.

"The name's Crash Bandicoot, and if you two are looking for a fight, you came to the right mammal."

"Ssso be it." Joe spoke.

Then, a storm of swords flew at the bandicoot, who dodged the projectiles left and right, while Aku-Aku and Polar hid from the fight.

"Crash, be careful!" The mask yelled at Crash, who continued to evade the swords.

"Easier said than done!" The bandicoot responded loudly, not realizing that the swords had stopped flying at him.

"The sswords…" Aku-Aku noticed the sudden stop of flying weapons.

Crash heard this and looked at the swords, which were in the wall. Upon knowing this, Crash turned to the Komodo Brothers and bragged.

"You guys wasted all of your weapons!"

The brothers looked at each other and started laughing loudly, confusing Crash and his friends.

"What's so funny?" The bandicoot asked.

"Your ssstupidity." Joe replied.

The brother's yellow eyes started glowing as the swords started to be removed from the wall.

"Crash!" Aku-Aku yelled.

The bandicoot turned to the mask, but he noticed the flying swords.

"Whoa!" Crash exclaimed before he started dodging swords again.

"What'sss the matter?" Joe 'asked', "Don't like ssswordsss?"

Crash dodged the weapons when he got an idea.

"This might be good."

Crash ran to the brothers.

"What isss that marsssupial thinking?" Joe demanded to know.

Joe got his answer as Crash dashed between the brothers with the swords after the bandicoot. Two swords darted pass the brothers' faces, shocking them so much that they fainted from fright. When they fell, a crystal fell out of each of their robes and rolled to Crash's feet.

"Game over for you two." Crash announced, grabbing the crystals.

A blinding light took Crash, Aku-Aku, and Polar away from the Komodo Brothers.


	8. Chapter 7

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Retold by Mutitoon90

* * *

Chapter 7

"This is not good!" Nathan announced as a silver wolf passed by him, carrying a first aid kit.

"Agreed." Luna's voice rang out from the door of the Komodo Brothers' room.

Nathan looked and saw Luna in her human form; her hair was brown, and her ears were human.

"So," Nathan started, "the…"

"Komodo Brothers?" Luna interrupted, "They're fine; they just fainted from shock, although Moe had the closer shave."

"What do you mean…?" Nathan started before was interrupted again, this time it was by Brio.

"Nathan, Moe has a small cut on his face, but it's nothing serious."

"Thank you, Brio." Nathan sighed out.

"That's good to heard." Luna smiled brightly.

"We need help." Brio announced.

"Yeah." Nathan agreed, scratching his head.

Sash returned to Luna's side and lay at the girl's feet.

"Maybe, this Crash has someone to talk to…" Luna thought as she looked at her canine friend.

Hearing this, Nathan's face brightened up.

"Of course!"

Then, the boy ran off, leaving Luna, Sash, and Brio very confused.

"Did you understand that, Doc?" Luna asked Brio, while Sash looked at him.

"No." Brio replied, shaking his head.

* * *

On Wumpa Island, Coco just exited from Koloa Kong's computer shop with the battery in her computer.

"Thanks again, Kong!" Coco shouted her fellow marsupial.

"Anytime, Coco." Koloa Kong yelled back to Coco went on her way back to her and Crash's home.

* * *

Coco arrived at the home made by Koloa Kong, who worked with others before working the computer shop. The house was round in shape, yellow-brown with a brown and green roof and had five rooms; three on the top story, one on the bottom story and one on the side. Inside the house, the fireplace lighted the room as Coco sat down on the green sofa. She opened the laptop and checked if she had any new e-mail, which there was.

"Wow! It's from Nathan!" Coco exclaimed joyfully, unaware on the contents of the message that she was about to read.


	9. Chapter 8

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Retold by Mutitoon90

* * *

Chapter 8

On the remote part of Gun Island, Crash, Aku-Aku, and Polar appeared in a flash of light.

"Why didn't Cortex let us go here after Wumpa Island?" Crash asked Aku-Aku.

"Your guess is as good as mine." The mask replied.

"I just wish Cortex could guess what I'm going to do to him!" Crash announced hotly.

"Crash," The colorful mask interrupted, "now is not the time for that."

"Fine." The bandicoot grumbled as he folded his arms together like a child.

* * *

The trio entered the castle with four crystals in Crash's body.

The first crystal was in the old power station that Crash and Nathan (with the help of Pinstripe Potoroo) shut down, so they could enter the castle; the second was in a mine entrance, which Polar sniffed out; the third fell out of the pocket of a rat guard, which Aku-Aku noticed; the fourth was in a bird's nest, which Crash had to climb, not knowing of the vengeful mother bird which awaited him at the top.

"Ow!" Crash exclaimed as he rubbed on the marked the mother bird left on Crash.

"Don't rub it," Aku-Aku said, trying not to laugh, "It'll get worse."

Polar grinned, since he could not laugh.

"Real funny, guys." The bandicoot groaned in pain from the marks.

* * *

The trio entered the lab, or at least what was left of it after the fire that happened a year earlier.

"Never thought I'd be back here again." Crash voiced his mind.

"This place is eerie to anyone." Aku-Aku agreed with the bandicoot, who asked, "Even you?"

"Yes." The mask answered grimly.

Polar felt the tension in the room and whimpered.

"Don't worry, Polar," Crash said, noticing his friend's fearful attitude, "Nothing's gonna hurt you."

Then, a roar was heard, grabbing the attention of the group.

"Although," Crash added, "there might be something that would hurt me."

"Like that mother bird?" The mask laughed out, despite the roar.

"I don't that bird made that roar." Crash said, "but that was a good try on a real joke."

Aku-Aku tried to thank Crash for the complement, but a second roar came to the trio's ears.

"That's loud." The bandicoot stated the clear.

Aku-Aku started up the stairs; Crash, who hoped to avoid a fight, knew that he really escape that fate and started up the stairs as well with Polar right behind him.

* * *

At the top of the tower, Crash recalled the time that he helped Nathan get a ride from Buddy the pelican.

"Good times." The bandicoot said to himself before he heard a third roar, which was louder than the first two.

"What was…?" Aku-Aku said, but he did not finish.

A large human-like tiger appeared in front of the group.

"Oh, boy!" Crash said meekly upon seeing his possible opponent.

"You Crash Bandicoot?" The giant tiger asked the being he was looking for.

"Yes?" Crash replied, hoping for things to be peaceful.

"You stop looking for crystals." The tiger announced.

"Who ordered that?" Crash asked, hoping for information.

"Tiny not telling!" The tiger announced, proving to be smarter than he presented.

"Tiny?" Crash asked.

"Yeah," The tiger, known as Tiny, replied, "that Tiny's name."

"You're not that small!" Crash pointed out.

"Tiny know that, but Boss thought it funny for friends and confusing to no friends." The tiger confessed.

"No friends?" The mask asked this time.

"My guess is enemies." Crash said.

"Yeah!" Tiny confirmed loudly.

Crash asked Tiny a question.

"Do you have a crystal?"

"Tiny have crystal, but Tiny not gonna give to you." The tiger replied, pulling out a crystal.

Crash grinned mischievously before he placed two fingers in his mouth and gave out a loud whistle.

"What you do?" Tiny asked, recovering from the whistle.

Then, a giant pelican swooped down and grabbed the crystal out of Tiny's clawed hand, causing Tiny to look at the bird, which flew to Crash and gave him the crystal.

"Called in a friend." Crash continued to grin.

Tiny slowly returned his attention to Crash with great fury in his eyes, which made Crash glad that glares from a tiger could not kill other creatures, but Crash had more to worry about than the eyes of a tiger; he was more worried of it's teeth!

"You pay for that!" Tiny roared at the bandicoot.

Then, a loud chomping noise was heard, causing Tiny to forget his fury to pay attention to something else: the pain in his tail.

"OWWWWW!" Tiny roared as he jumped up and down in pain.

Polar had sneaked behind Tiny and bitten him in the tail.

"Good job!" Crash praised the cub.

"Not now!" Aku-Aku yelled, "We need to leave now!"

Then, like a genie granting the wish of its master, the light engulfed the trio, leaving Tiny, who had recovered from the bite to the tail, alone.

"Huh?" The tiger asked, "Where everyone go?"


	10. Chapter 9

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Retold by Mutitoon90

* * *

Chapter 9

Crash was watching the hologram of Cortex as the scientist talked.

"I'm proud of the hard work you've done, Crash."

Crash was not convinced by the 'praise'.

"What the-?" Cortex exclaimed before his image started to blur and disappear.

"What happened?" Crash asked his friends, who knew as much the bandicoot did.

Then, a new image appeared: Coco!

"Coco!" Crash yelled as he saw his younger sibling.

"Crash," The hologram said, "Cortex has been lying to you!"

Crash stepped back a little, but she said, "Why am I not surprised?"

Aku-Aku shook like a person shaking their head.

"We were deceived!"

Coco resumed speaking.

"Cortex is planning to use the crystals to fuel a new version of the Cortex Vortex, which is designed to brainwash the entire planet!"

"What!" Crash and Aku-Aku exclaimed.

"And all those guys you fought, with the exception of Professor Roo, work for Nathan!" Coco added.

"Nathan!" Crash asked loudly in shock.

"That…monster!" The mask growled furiously.

Then, Coco's image started blurring.

"Crash," begged the hologram before it vanished, "don't let Cortex have the crystals."

Then, his sister's image disappeared from Crash's sight.

"Coco!" Crash yelled, but it was in vain.

"Don't waste your breath." A voice rang out to the bandicoot, "She can't hear you."

Crash turned around and saw a teenage girl and a wolf.

"Who are you?" Crash growled at the girl.

"Name's Luna, and this is Sash." The girl introduced herself and the wolf.

"I am Aku-Aku, and this is Crash Bandicoot and Polar." The mask greeted.

"I know of you two, although I thank you for introducing us to the polar bear cub." Luna politely said.

"Who told you?" Crash yelled.

"Nathan Charles, formally known as Nathan Cortex." The girl announced, surprising Crash and Aku-Aku.

"Nathan!" The bandicoot yelled, "Then, you're one of the good guys!"

"Oh, I'm good, all right." Luna bragged with a big grin on her face, while Sash rolled her eyes.

Then, a bright light engulfed the group and it disappeared, taking the five with it.

* * *

"What!" Nathan exclaimed upon hearing where Luna and Sash went off to: Neo Cortex's space station.

"I tried to stop them, but they were too fast!" Brio explained, trying to calm Nathan down.

"Then, get them back here!" Nathan demanded.

"I can't!" Brio replied, "Luna deactivated the wrist portal retractor!"

"Damn!" The boy exclaimed; his black eyes flared red in fury.

"I could get you to where they are at." Brio suggested.

Nathan knew that was his best shot of getting Luna and Sash back.

"Start up the big portal."

Then, Nathan started off out of the room.

"Why that?" Brio asked.

Nathan stopped dead in his tracks, turned to the man, and replied.

"I need to make sure that Crash is gonna need a ride to stop Neo Cortex."

* * *

The group appeared in a different part of the space station.

"What are we?" Crash asked, looking around.

Luna tried to remember, but she could not.

"I can't recall the name of this part of the space station."

"Space?" Crash asked.

Luna wanted to explain, but Aku-Aku stopped her.

"Do not concern yourself; Crash does not know about outer space."

"Okay, I just hope I can explain as soon as we leave." Luna said.

"Leave?" Crash asked, eyeing the girl.

"Yeah." Luna mewed sheepishly.

Then, a giant robot appeared from the floor.

"OH!" Luna exclaimed upon seeing the robot, "I can't believe that I forgot this area hid the giant robot!"

"Giant robot?" Crash exclaimed.

"Yeah, and N. Gin driving it!" Luna added.

"_Attention!" _N. Gin said through the intercom, _"By the order of Neo Cortex, Luna the werewolf and Crash Bandicoot will die!"_

"Die!" Crash exclaimed.

"To get the crystals, which are in our bodies." Luna announced.

"'Our'?" Crash asked in shock.

"Yeah." Luna replied.

The wolf, Sash, was growling at the robot with Polar.

"What are we going to do?" Crash asked Aku-Aku and Luna.

Then, the shoulders of the robot opened, revealing the missiles in there.

"There are two options." Luna said, "One is stay and die. The other is run and fight."

Crash did not think before he answered.

"Running and fighting's a good idea."

Then, the missiles were fired!

"RUN!" Crash yelled.

The others obeyed, and they managed to avoid being, but just barely.

"I don't think we can dodge the next set." Crash said, panting from the dash from death.

"And, you're right," Luna agreed, "At least, without help."

"What help?" Crash asked.

Then, Sash's sliver fur started glowing bright silver. The glow engulfed and shaped itself around the wolf.

"What's going on?" Crash asked Luna, but Aku-Aku answered.

"A powerful pact in effect."

The glowing wolf flew, like a restless spirit, into Luna's body, causing the human to be engulfed in the same silver light.

"Luna!" Crash exclaimed in fright upon seeing Luna's form doubled over.

"Do not worry, Crash." Aku-Aku said, "Luna's not in danger."

"What?" Crash asked, but he got his answer when he saw the result.

When the silver light dispersed, Crash saw that Luna's brown hair turned silver, her ears were wolf-like, her teeth turned into fangs, her fingernails grew into talons, and she had gotten a silver tail.

"Luna?" Crash asked.

"You got it." The new Luna winked at the bandicoot.

"_You two will not escape!"_ N. Gin's voice rang out as another set of missiles was being loaded.

"Time to run!" Luna announced as she started running with Crash, Aku-Aku, and Polar following behind.

The missiles flew at the group, who dodged very single one of the projectiles.

"Man!" Luna exclaimed after dodging the missiles, "Those things are hard to dodge, even with help!"

"_Nowhere to run now!" _N. Gin's rang out again.

Crash looked and saw that the robot had them cornered.

"We're trapped!"

Luna saw something and grinned, as she said, "Maybe not."

"What?" Crash asked. He looked up and saw a light, which meant one thing.

"Someone's teleporting here!" The bandicoot yelled.

N. Gin, believing the announcement was a trick, did not believe him.

"_That won't fool me!"_

Then, a motorcycle carrying a person flew out of the light, which disappeared, and around the robot. The person pulled out a small object, which shot a white laser at the robot's shoulders, destroying the missiles.

"Is that…?" Crash tried to ask, but he got his answer when he heard the person on the flying motorcycle say, "You will not hurt my friends!"

"Nathan!" Crash cheered to the motorcycle rider.

Then, the person shot a light to the robot's torso, stopping the robot completely with one exception: the ejection seat. N. Gin popped out of the robot's head and landed between Luna and Crash.

"Crash, what should we do about this little worm?" Luna asked the bandicoot with a horrible grin on her face.

"I was asking myself the same question." Crash replied to the wolf-girl as he cracked his knuckles.

Then, the motorcycle landed in front of the others and the captured N. Gin.

"Nathan?" Crash asked surprised by his friend's new appearance.

Nathan was wearing a black leather jacket, a dark shirt, blue jeans that looked new, and dark sunglasses. His black hair had grown in length, his skin was tanned, although that it was still somewhat pale, and once he removed his sunglasses and placed them on his head, Crash saw that Nathan's dark eyes were filled with a confidence that was never their before.

"It has been a while, since we last saw each other." Nathan said as he removed his jacket.

"Nathan, what's going on?" Luna asked, curious about Nathan's actions.

"Cortex is about to blast off with the Cortex Vortex right now!" Nathan said, giving the jacket to Crash.

"He has to be stopped!" Aku-Aku yelled upon hearing Nathan's statement.

"We know that!" Luna said to the mask.

"Well, here's an add-on!" Nathan said, giving Crash the sunglasses, "Crash is the only one who can stop Cortex."

"I see." Luna said with a grin, "I'll give Crash the other ten crystals."

"The other ten?" Crash asked Luna.

"It's a long story." Nathan said, and Luna added, "And we hand no time for it."

Then, Luna's body started glowing again, but the color was purple.

"Luna?" Crash asked.

Ten crystals appeared around Luna, spinning around the girl, when Sash, in a form of silver light, flew from Luna's body, leading the crystals to Crash's body. The wolf went into the bandicoot's body, allowing the crystals into the bandicoot, and went out and returned to Luna's body.

"That was…weird." Crash said.

"I know." Luna replied, remembering that feeling herself.

"There's no time for that!" Nathan yelled, pointing out the seriousness of the situation.

"Yeah!" Luna agreed.

"But how is Crash going to find Cortex?" Aku-Aku asked.

"Don't worry," Nathan grinned, "The sunglasses are modified to find Cortex."

"The crystals will do the rest of the work." Luna added.

Then, a portal appeared in front of the group.

"That for me?" Luna grinned sheepishly.

"No." Nathan replied, "It's for Crash."

"Why?" Crash asked his friend.

"Don't ask!" Nathan said, "All you need to know now is that portal is going to take you to Cortex."

"Take the bike!" Luna said.

"Good idea." Nathan agreed with the wolf-girl.

"But I don't know how to ride a bike." Crash confessed.

"I'll explain it." Nathan said.

Crash climbed onto the motorcycle, while Nathan briefed him on how to ride a motorcycle.

"Good luck, Crash." Aku-Aku said.

"And don't worry about your friends," Luna said, "I'll take good care of them."

"Thanks, Luna." Crash replied to Luna's announcement.

Luna ran to the bandicoot and said, "When things get rough, I'm very sure you'll know what to do."

"I hope so." Crash replied before Luna stepped away from him.

Then, the bandicoot drove off into the portal.

* * *

Cortex was in the master control room with the master crystal in its place.

"I'm going to take over the world, only as soon as N. Gin get me those crystals." Cortex said to himself.

Then, he heard the noise of squealing wheels.

"What the…?" The 'doctor' exclaimed as he turned around and saw a leather jacket and sunglasses wearing Crash Bandicoot on a motorcycle.

"You!" Cortex exclaimed again.

"Yep." Crash replied, "Guess Nathan's sunglasses aren't needed."

"Nathan?" Cortex exclaimed for a third time.

"I'm here to stop your real plan!" Crash announced to the 'doctor'.

"So, you know." Cortex mused.

"Yeah, especially since your 'friend' tried to kill me to get the crystals." Crash added.

"You can't stop me!" Cortex announced, pulling out his laser gun.

Crash saw this and clutched his fist, not knowing about what power he had in him due to the crystals.

Cortex fired a shot at Crash, who did not react in to dodge, but a purple light absorbed the shot.

"What the!" Cortex gasped after seeing Crash still alive and a little more.

Crash opened his eyes and saw purple markings on his body, which glowed through his clothes.

"Whoa!" The bandicoot awed at the markings.

"How can this be?" The little man yelled.

"If you think this is impossible," Crash said, now knowing of the powers he had, "then, watch this."

Then, the markings on Crash's body glowed brighter and brighter until it engulfed him, and a wave of purple light flew from the bandicoot's body.

The last words Neo Cortex before the wave of light hit him was "Curse you, Crash Bandicoot!"

* * *

Back at the blimp, Nathan, Luna, Sash, Aku-Aku, and Polar had arrived there.

"Nathan!" Brio appeared, "You're back!"

"With the runaways." Nathan added, gripping Luna's shoulder.

"Watch it!" Luna demanded, freeing her arm.

Then, Luna's body flashed silver, allowing Sash to leave Luna's body and changing Luna back to her human form.

"You two disobeyed a direct order!" Nathan pointed out.

"Yeah, and I warned you about that from day one!" Luna countered.

Nathan's face grew red with anger, when Brio yelled out.

"Look on the screen!"

The group turned and saw that a part of the space station just exploded!

"Crash!" The whole group yelled.

* * *

Meanwhile, Crash was floating in the vast of outer space with masses of debris from the space station that he destroyed. His clothes were torn as well as his body. His thoughts were about his plan to stop Cortex and how it was not his best idea yet. Then, he saw the master crystal in its container floating away into another part of space. The bandicoot grinned to himself on getting rid of the power supply before he closed his eyes for what might be the last time.


	11. Chapter 10

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Retold by Mutitoon90

* * *

Chapter 10

Crash woke up in a white room with a clear plastic mask with tubes in it over his mouth and nose.

"What's this?" Crash asked, trying to remove the mask.

"An oxygen mask, which isn't supposed to be removed yet." Nathan's voice rang out to the bandicoot.

"Nathan?" Crash asked, turning his head to see Nathan, who was sitting next to him.

"That's right." Nathan smiled kindly to the bandicoot.

"It's good to see you again." Crash cheered meekly.

"Same here." Nathan said, placing his hand on Crash's hand as a gesture of friendship.

Crash saw the flowers behind Nathan and asked, "Who brought the flowers?"

"Some were mine, some were Luna's and Sash's, and the rest were from your sister." Nathan answered with a smile.

"Coco?" Crash asked, shocked to hear his sister's name.

"That's right." Nathan said, "Coco has the right to know about you."

Then, Luna and Sash entered the room. The girl wore a nurse's uniform, while the wolf had a small barrel attached to a large brown leather collar.

"Hello." Luna greeted the two friends in a singsong voice.

"Hi, Luna." Nathan greeted with an annoyed sigh.

"Luna?" Crash asked, confused at Luna's attire.

"I like to dress up, don't judge me." Luna said, frowning at the bandicoot.

"So, how long have I been out?" Crash asked.

"About a year." Luna said with a grin on her face.

"What!" Crash exclaimed, knowing how long a year was.

"Luna's joking." Nathan said, calming his friend down, "You've been asleep for two days."

"That long?" Crash asked.

"Yeah." Luna laughed, "Sorry for the scare."

Crash laughed as Coco appeared from behind Luna.

"Crash!" The younger sibling yelled in excitement.

Luna quickly grabbed Coco, who was about to jump on her brother to give him a hug.

"Hey!" Coco exclaimed loudly.

"Slow down there!" Luna announced, "There's a time and place for jumping to hug, but here and now isn't the time."

Nathan could not help himself from a small laugh at the she-bandicoot's attitude about being caught.

"Hey," asked Crash, pointing to his mask, "when do I get this off?"

"Today's good enough." Luna said before she removed the plastic mask.

"Thanks." Crash said to Luna.

"You're welcome." The girl replied.

"That's funny." Nathan said to Luna, "Every time you talk to me, you usually have a 'nickname' to give me, but with other people, you're as polite as a lady."

"That's easy to answer," announced Luna, "I really like you."

"Huh?" Nathan asked, but Luna quickly left the room, leaving three very confused friends in the room.

* * *

An hour later, Crash was clean, dress in fresh clothing, and going to the screening room, recalling that the blimp looked different, when Neo Cortex had the blimp.

"This place has really changed." Crash announced.

"I know." Nathan said as he walked next to his friend.

"That's easy for you guys to say!" Coco whined, "I've never seen it when Neo Cortex had it."

"Then, you're lucky!" Crash announced, while Nathan agreed by nodding. Aku-Aku rolled his yellow eyes, while Polar made no comment.

"Hey, guys!" Luna, who had changed to her normal clothes, greeted the trio, "Wanna see the laser?"

"Is it working?" Nathan asked.

"Yeah!" Luna confirmed.

"I wanna see it!" Crash said, excited upon hearing it.

"Me too!" Coco said, also excited about the laser.

The siblings were acting like children, who were excited about going to an amusement park. Nathan and Luna could not help themselves from laughing.

"Okay, everyone!" Brio announced, "We're about to fire it!"

"I don't wanna miss this." Crash said, running off to the room Brio exited from, while Coco followed him, yelling at him.

"Wait for me, Crash!"

The siblings were heard by Luna and Nathan, who looked at each other and, without a single word spoken, agreed to walk together to the room.

"Whoa!"

"Sounds like Crash saw his 'enemies'." Luna joked.

"Yeah!" Nathan laughed.

The two entered the room and saw Crash talking to the Komodo Brothers and Tiny Tiger.

"Niccce work with dessstroying the ssspaccce ssstation." Joe congratulated Crash, while Moe shook Crash's hand.

"You hero!" Tiny roared, hearing everyone's ears.

"Calm down, everyone." Brio announced meekly.

Luna saw this and shouted loudly.

"QUIET!"

The three praising allies stopped and looked at the girl.

"Brio has something to say." Luna announced, taking advantage of the others looking at her.

Crash looked at Brio, as did the others, as the small, kind man made his announcement.

"Thank you, Luna. As most of you know, I've built a laser cannon to destroy Neo Cortex's space station, but I am in need of a power source that can help; Crash has that very source."

The others looked at Crash, who just grinned sheepishly.

"Don't worry." Luna said, "We have Sash and Aku-Aku here."

"She's right." Nathan agreed.

"Yeah." Crash agreed.

Then, Aku-Aku floated to Crash, circled around the bandicoot a few times, until the crystals floated out of Crash's body one by one, following the mask around. The mask 'dragged' the crystals to the machine, which had a place for each of the crystals. The crystals were set in place, and Aku-Aku floated back to Crash, who was amazed by seeing the action.

"That was so cool!" Coco jumped in excitement.

"You can that again." Crash agreed with his sister.

The others laughed as Brio made another announcement.

"Does anyone what to do the honors?"

A chorus of 'I do's' and 'I wanna's' rang from everyone except Crash and Coco.

"Crash?" Brio asked.

"Yeah?" The male bandicoot asked, looking at Brio.

"Do you want to blow up the space station?" The man asked.

"Well, yeah!" Crash replied, "I've been a tool to him, but I already got my payback at him up there."

"Is there someone who should fire the shot?" Brio asked Crash.

"Yeah." Crash said.

"Who then?" Luna asked loudly.

Crash turned to his sister.

"Coco, do you want to blow up a space station?"

Coco looked at her brother with a curious look on her face.

"Is it really Cortex's?"

"Yeah." Crash answered with a grin.

Hearing this, Coco answered quickly.

"What's da button?"

Luna laughed loudly before she spoke.

"Now that's someone who knows what she wants." The human girl announced, "I show her to the button."

Nathan sighed out of annoyance, but knew that Luna was a good person, despite her lack of manners.

"Whoa!" Coco's voice grew with awe, "That's a big button!"

"You can say that again." Luna agreed.

Nathan looked up and saw the females next to the giant red button that actives the laser cannon. He smiled, knowing Coco might enjoy putting salt into Cortex's slashed pride.

"So," Coco asked, "how do you push it?"

"That's the fun part!" Luna grinned a rather prideful smile.

"What do you mean?" Coco asked the human.

"You jump on it!" Luna announced.

Nathan heard this and yelled at Luna.

"Luna!"

The girl stopped in her tracks as Nathan finished his 'shout-out'.

"Don't try to jump on the button!"

"Oh!" Luna said 'innocently', "You mean like this?"

But before Luna jumped, Coco bounced on the floor before she jumped onto the button, activating the laser.

* * *

Outside on the blimp, a beam flew from a cannon and continued to fly into outer space until it hit the remaining part of the space station. Pieces of the station flew off in different directions.

* * *

In the blimp, the group saw the explosion.

"All right!" Nathan yelled in pure joy.

The others joined Nathan in the joyful cheers with one exception: Luna, who was upset at Coco.

"I wanted to blow up the space station." Luna whined, folding her arms together like a spoiled child.


	12. Chapter 11

Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back

Retold by Mutitoon90

* * *

Chapter 11

In the shade of a wumpa fruit tree, Nathan was sitting on the ground with his back on the bark of the tree and typing on journal entry into his laptop.

"It has been a month since Crash defeated Cortex, and Coco destroyed his space station, which Luna was still upset about not pressing the button. I, with Brio, the Komodo Brothers, Tiny, Luna, and Sash, have landed the blimp and deflated the balloon to live here on Wumpa Island. Crash, Coco, and Aku-Aku were excited with everyone else on the island, when they heard about my moving to the island.

"_I heard of what happened over the year since I had left the island. I rejoiced when I heard the good news, like Koloa Kong having a computer shop, and I also become sad when I heard the bad news, like Tawna leaving Crash for Pinstripe, although I can understand why she left. _

"_This would have been Luna's final day of mopping the floors, if she hadn't given the crystals to Crash willingly, but it was shortened to a week, and throughout that week, Luna swore like an enraged sailor. _

"_I am happy that Professor Roo is well, but he does have small fits of insanity every now and again; it's just a little difficult to tell when he's going to go nuts."_

Nathan paused from his typing to recall anything he might have forgotten. He returned to his journal once he knew what to type.

"_I have almost everything that a young man could want, but I have this very bad feeling in my being, despite the fact that it is impossible is in my mind, that my uncle is very much alive. That, and the fact that a part of the space station is going to hit the island very soon." _

Nathan was upset about the last thing he typed, when Luna commented.

"You're joking, right!"

"Luna!" Nathan exclaimed at the girl, "That's private!"

"On an island, hardly." Luna said, before jumping to Nathan's side.

Nathan sighed loudly as Luna continued to speak.

"If Crash can see through my bedroom window…"

"I get it!" Nathan yelled, silencing Luna, "I'm fixing your window!"

"Now or later?" Luna grinned mischievously at the young man.

"Try this morning!" Nathan countered.

"Just joking!" Luna backed away form the boy, "Yeesh!"

Nathan laughed a little at Luna's reaction.

"Hey! That's not funny!" The girl yelled.

"I thought so." Nathan grinned at Luna.

Luna saw this and smiled at Nathan.

"So, you do have a sense of humor."

"Yeah," Nathan confirmed, "but I have a better timing for it."

Luna thought for a moment before she spoke again.

"Good point there."

Then, a howl entered the humans' ears.

"Sash's calling us for lunch!" Luna said.

"Yeah." Nathan shrugged his shoulders, "I wonder what we're having for lunch."

The girl laughed wholeheartedly.

"Yeah, I wonder."

"Especially since Crash is making lunch." Nathan added as he continued to smile.

Crash's idea for making lunch was picking a bushel of wumpa fruit and giving everyone only one piece of the fruit, while he had the rest.

Luna got to her feet with a smile on her face. She started to leave, but she stopped and turned to Nathan.

"Nathan, there's more to life than worrying about tomorrow. If that's what everyone did, no one would live pass their first year of real life."

Luna left to the Bandicoot's house, leaving Nathan with the thought Luna placed in his mind.

"Yet again," sighed the boy, "Luna has shown that she can produce a gem of wisdom from that land fill of that mouth of hers."

With a laugh, Nathan returned to his laptop.

_"But for now, I will not worry about it. Thanks to Luna's rare, yet powerful, vocal insight, I shall work on paying attention on having fun with my friends."_

Nathan saved his entry and turned off and closed his laptop with a smile on his face.

"But first," Nathan announced to himself, "lunch!"

Then, he grabbed the laptop, put it under his arm and ran off for lunch, yelling to Luna, "Slow down, Luna!"

Luna laughed when she heard the statement as she and Nathan ran to their friends, who were ready for another adventure.


End file.
